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McCanns quiet on NZ DNA sample

The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann will leave the testing of a DNA sample of a New Zealand girl repeatedly mistaken for their daughter to the authorities.

New Zealand police are sending the sample to Scotland Yard to help conclusively prove the Otago girl, who shares a similar mark in one of her eyes with Madeleine, is not Gerry and Kate McCann's nine-year-old daughter.

Spokesman for the McCann family Clarence Mitchell said: "It is entirely a matter for Scotland Yard and the New Zealand police and Kate and Gerry [McCann] won't be commenting."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "This is not a line of inquiry, but just to corroborate what police in New Zealand are saying we have requested DNA."

Police launched a five-day investigation last month when a Queenstown retailer became suspicious of a man and a young girl, who bore a resemblance to Madeleine.

However, they said they were "absolutely satisfied" she was not Madeleine, and it was not the first time she had been mistaken for the missing girl.

Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family's Portuguese holiday apartment on May 3, 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

There have been previous reported sightings of Madeleine in Dunedin, Milton, Alexandra and Queenstown. Sightings have also been reported in Sweden, Belgium, India and Australia.